Prizefighter: The super-bantamweights
It comes round so fast doesn’t it? There’s barely time for Herbie Hide to wipe the blood from his eyes before the next instalment of Prizefighter gets underway.
This time it’s the turn of the super-bantamweights, so here is a rundown of the contestants for Friday’s tournament.
Jamie Arthur: Won 16 (KO 4) lost 3 (KO 2)
Its last chance saloon time for Jamie Arthur, who fought Martin Lindsey for the British featherweight title and lost in his last outing in March. Arthur is a 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist but his pro career has struggled to reach the same heights.
He won his first nine before back-to-back defeats to the distinctly average Haider Ali and Harry Ramadongi which promptly saw him retire for three years.
The highlight of his career so far is a 2009 points victory over Tyneside prospect Akaash “Kash the Bash” Bhatia and his British title shot. However after his heavy points defeat to Lindsey in their British strap clash, his career looked over.
Arthur is a whole-hearted fighter who leads well with the jab and tries to work his way inside, but he can be prone to dropping his guard while on the attack. Also, the Welshman could be accused of fighting with emotion a little too often and doesn’t have destructive power in his arsenal.
Arthur has said he will retire if he doesn’t win Prizefighter.
Willie Casey: Won 5 (KO 4) lost 0
Willie Casey is a late addition after Wayne McCullough was forced to pull out. The 27-year-old undefeated Irishman is still in the early stages of his career following a successful spell in the amateurs.
He is known as “Big Bang” and his four out of five knockout rate certainly justifies that as a nom de guerre. It’s still early days for Casey, so far he has fought journeymen, but recently he upped the ante by travelling to Canada where he beat the superbly named Canadian prospect Tyson Cave. Cave was a big hope for Canada but Casey made light work of him, knocking him down four times and taking his unbeaten record.
Prizefighter is a risk for the Limerick man as his record is on the line by stepping-up the quality early on in his career. However at 27 he needs to push on and this is a good opportunity for him to reach a wider audience quicker. Has in the past said he improves as the rounds rack up; therefore he may not be suited to the three round format. Still he is a decent puncher, gets a lot of power and is an unknown quantity.
Casey could be the outsider who is worth a sly bet.
Mark Moran: Won 11 (KO 3) lost 1 (KO 1) drawn 1
Former British Champion Mark Moran has pedigree in the form of a British title. The Scouser comes into this tournament with a perfect record bar one career defeat to Jason “2 Smooth” Booth in which he was severely outclassed before being knocked out in the sixth, by a man who had just 11 days training in preparation.
In fact The “Dingle Dazzler” does sport a misleading record with Booth the only fighter he has faced with a winning heavy record and still he only has three knockouts to his name.
Moran’s southpaw stance seems to cause him more trouble than it does his opponents, he is particularly susceptible to right-handers and against Booth his defence was basically non-existent as he was picked off with ease. His main strength is his heart that has got him out of trouble a few times, most notably when he beat Danny Wallace for the vacant British belt in 2008.
Realistically though Moran has neither the power nor boxing ability to trouble any of the favourites.
Ricky Owen: Won 11 (KO 4) lost 0
The young hotshot of the competition, gunslinger Ricky Owen is a Swansea man who has been learning his trade out in America.
He turned pro at 19 but it has taken the Welshman six years to rack up 11 fights as the result of injuries and family problems. Prizefighter is a great chance for Owen to kick-start his career and he will take heart from the previous cruiserweight incarnation of the tournament, which was won by Jon-Lewis Dickinson, who is at a similar stage in his career to Owen.
Owen is a slickster, a speedster and a southpaw. He’s got fast hands and likes to dip in attack and then bounce off. So, a good mover with decent hand-speed, but there are still a few question marks over his power.
If he had had a more succinct career he would probably be a bit better known, but this is still a good opportunity for him and he is a favourite to take home the trophy and prize-money.
Esham Pickering: Won 34 (KO 13) lost 9 (KO 2)
By far and wide the most experienced man in the contest. Esham Pickering is a former British, Commonwealth and European champion at super-bantamweight level.
At 33 it could be argued his best days are now behind him, although Pickering has enjoyed something of a renaissance since a catastrophic defeat to Bernard Dunne in 2006.
The Nottingham-born fighter hit the ground running with just one defeat in his first 17 pro fights. This gave him his world title shot against Mauricio Martinez in 2000, in which he was obliterated within the first round.
Pickering has without question been in the ring with a much higher calibre of opponent than anyone else involved tomorrow night, but in recent matches he’s looked a bit tired, losing four of his last six, although to be fair four of them were title fights.
Pickering is a switch hitter and a smooth mover with a touch of the Roy Jones Jnr’s in his fast feet. He tends to circle his opponent before bounding in and throwing combinations that he works in off a tight left jab. He has genuine knockout power; however he’s not great on the back foot and can get caught while trying to escape sticky situations, plus age is no longer his friend.
He seems like genuine nice guy of boxing and as he is by far the most experienced he will be among the candidates to go all the way.
Gavin Reid: Won 6 (KO 3) lost 5 (KO 1) drawn 1
It looks like Gavin Reid might just here to make up the numbers really. Every Prizefighter has a few of these, filler boxers if you like. To be fair if you look closely at his record he has stepped it up straight away, fighting other newcomers with good records, rather than taking on proper journeymen.
Reid looks a bit fragile; at best he’s a tryer. He doesn’t have a jab and leaves himself open to counter punches as he found in brutal style when Andrew Singh Kooner caught him with the sweetest of right hooks in their 2008 match-up, after Reid left himself wide open.
A good bet for a KO if he comes across one of the favourites.
Robbie Turley: Won 7 (KO 1) lost 2 (KO 1)
Welshman Robbie Turely could be another one here to make up the numbers. A late inclusion after Craig Lyon pulled out; Turely has it all to prove.
His record suggests he’s no knockout artist and his defeats came to Riaz Durgahed and Dai Davies, two boxers you really should put away if you want a half decent career in the sport.
His chances of winning the competition are remote to say the least.
Josh Wale: Won 9 (KO 5) lost 2 (KO 1)
A young talent who has boxing in the blood, his dad is his trainer, his brother a former pro and his granddad a bare-knuckle fighter.
Josh Wale goes into this with a half-decent record and is a better calibre fighter than Reid and Turley. His record doesn’t do him justice as defeats came at the hands of the Arthur-slayer Ramogoadi and the more than decent Matthew Marsh.
The fight against Marsh may have come a bit too soon in Wale’s career as he was fighting for the British strap in only his tenth fight. It was a gutsy performance from the youngster who won a few of the early rounds before succumbing to experience and losing out on the cards.
Probably a rank outsider, but don’t write him off completely.
Prediction: Ricky Owen
This is the tightest Prizefighter yet, normally there is a clear favourite or a stand out fighter, but this time they are all of a very similar ability.
Pickering is the most experienced man out there, but he hasn’t looked up to it lately and could be out-gunned by a younger fighter’s stamina, as this three round format really suits the more youthful pugilist. Casey could be the man to watch, the Irishman stands a good chance of getting through to the final and making a name for himself, but his lack of experience could prove his undoing.
Providing they both get there, the Owen v Arthur Welsh derby could be a doozey. The winner of this bout should take the trophy and you’d fancy Owen’s quick hands to find a way through Arthur’s so-so defence.
QUARTER-FINALS:
Mark Moran v Willie Casey
Esham Pickering v Josh Wale
Robbie Turley v Jamie Arthur
Gavin Reid v Ricky Owen
SEMI-FINALS
Moran/Casey v Pickering/Wale
Turley/Arthur v Reid/Owen
Tags: